Ochsner at High Grove

The What and the Why

Ochsner at High Grove in Baton Rouge is a 200,000-square-foot medical center currently under development. Located on Interstate 10 along the Bluebonnet/Siegen corridor near the Mall of Louisiana, this facility will give Ochsner prime positioning and high visibility in the Baton Rouge market. The project consists of a new five-story, 170,000-square-foot medical office building and a 30,000-square-foot ambulatory care center, as well as a $15 million off-site infrastructure package.

Ochsner is overseeing the design and construction of the new facility. As lead developer, Stirling Properties was instrumental in leading the purchase of the land and taking the project through all city and state permitting. Tasked infrastructure efforts include three key facets: a new connection to gain access to Interstate 10, internal roads, and a bridge across a main drainage artery that will allow for interconnectivity to the Mall and provide a crossing for the BREC (Recreation & Park Commission for East Baton Rouge Parish) Bike Path.

Our Challenge

This was a significant piece of undeveloped property in Baton Rouge along Interstate 10 with high visibility and interest. But it lacked interstate access and needed infrastructure to cross a significant drainage artery, both items of which are major engineering works. Stirling Properties also had to navigate various land use approvals and negotiate the land sale with the landowner to allow for the current project. There were several permitting authorities that needed to give approval prior to breaking ground, including Baton Rouge City Council, the Mayor’s Office, City Planning Authority, Department of Public Works (DPW), and Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD). In addition to the permitting authorities, approval was needed from several of the neighborhood homeowner groups. While all of this was happening, progress was being made on budgeting with Ochsner and negotiation of the land purchase from the landowner.

Our Strategy

Teamwork is key and having the right players will make or break a project. From the beginning, key team members were assembled, including some vendors who had spent quite some time on this particular property. Stirling Properties was able to bring DDG into the team to work along with Stantec Engineering, who had done a large body of work on the interstate access. Combining the engineering firms along with the leadership of the development team and Ochsner, we were able to take down the land and permit the infrastructure work. Ochsner chose Lemoine Construction to work as their design/build partner on this project, and although separate and apart from Stirling Properties’ scope of work, we work closely as one complete team on this project.

Our Results

At the end of the project, we will have an extremely visible and attractive healthcare facility located prominently in the Baton Rouge market. The challenge will always be to deliver on time and on budget but our team is always up to the task! The Ochsner facility in Baton Rouge is expected to be complete in early 2019.